Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Stock Price Up 0.6% - Here's Why

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 0.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $151.18 and last traded at $150.48. Approximately 1,793,615 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 5,635,873 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.59.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CVX shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Chevron from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Chevron from $205.00 to $189.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $163.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Chevron from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chevron currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $175.19.

Chevron Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.12. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $153.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.09.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $50.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.86 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The company's revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.05 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.35%. Chevron's payout ratio is 71.65%.

Insider Activity

In other Chevron news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.13, for a total value of $26,357,398.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,356.40. The trade was a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 66.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 250 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Chevron

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the integrated energy and chemicals operations in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment is involved in the exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification of liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas; and carbon capture and storage, as well as a gas-to-liquids plant.